


Wake-Up Call

by Dftba99



Category: Silicon Valley (TV)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-07
Updated: 2015-08-07
Packaged: 2018-04-13 10:38:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,161
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4518675
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dftba99/pseuds/Dftba99
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After being fired, richard moves back to tulsa. Jared doesn't take it well.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Wake-Up Call

**Author's Note:**

> Oooooo I wrote a thing. I might do another chapter? Idk. Its kind of open ended so I may write more if you guys like it.

Richard was gone. 

After he was fired from his position as ceo, richard spent a few days refusing to leave his bed. Each of his friends made attempts to cheer him up, but he seemed to be completely detached from the world. He rarely spoke, he refused to eat, and if he slept, it didn't show. Jared was terrified that richard would do something drastic, so he frequently checked in on him and tried to encourage him. 

After about a week, richard entered the living room and announced that he was leaving. 

"What? Where are you going?" Erlich asked.

"I'm uh, going home to tulsa. At least for a while. I just need to get away from everything." 

"How long will you be gone?"

Richard shrugged. "A while, I guess. I'm not really sure if I'm coming back at all, to be honest. I'll keep in touch, I just need some time."

"Richard, with all due respect, I really don't think you're in a state to make decisions like this right now," Jared said. 

"I know what I'm doing, jared," Richard sighed. "I just can't be here, okay? Everything reminds me of Pied Piper and it's killing me. I'm sorry." 

And just like that, richard left jared's life as quickly as he'd entered it. The entire Pied Piper team was sent into a brief period of shock, but after a few weeks, they mostly recovered. 

All except jared. 

Sure, richard was a bit of a walking train wreck. He had panic attacks alarmingly often, he was arguably the most socially awkward person jared had ever met, and he had those 'night sweats' a lot. But nontheless,  Richard had been a shining lighthouse in the stormy sea that was jared's life. 

He inspired jared. Not only because of Pied piper, but because he simply refused to settle. While others were content being a part of the proverbial machine, richard strived for something better. He wanted to create things, even if they stressed him out and caused him grief. Even when he lost everything he'd built, he never regretted building it in the first place. Jared couldn't help but find him somewhat noble.

And as inappropriate and unprofessional as it was, jared had fallen for richard. Somewhere along the way, richard stopped being just an exceptionally determined guy with an algorithm to jared. Instead, he became funny and smart and a little bit dorky and endlessly interesting, and jared had no control over any of it. 

And now he was gone.

Jared's  mind was constantly filled with the things he should've said. He should've told richard that it was him, not the company, that he was so unendingly faithful to. He should've asked to join richard in tulsa, or begged for him to stay in Palo alto. He should've done literally anything other than let the love of his life move seventeen hundred miles away for an undetermined amount of time. 

Multiple times, jared considered calling richard, but it seemed like a bad idea. Richard needed to keep his head as far away from Pied piper as possible. If jared called, it could send him spiraling. 

"Hey," Carla said gently. It was the end of another meaningless workday, and jared was sitting at his computer, dreading going home. 

"Hi carla. How are you?"

She shrugged. "I'm okay, I guess," she looked like she was about to leave, but she hesitated. Instead she placed a hand on jared's shoulder. 

"I know things have been really hard for you, with richard leaving and all, but you're gonna be okay. I know you are. And Richard's probably fine too. He's just trying to sort shit out, you know? If anything bad had happened, we'd know. His mom would call or something. He'll be back soon and he'll be ready to get his job back and it'll be just like it was before. Maybe even better," She squeezed his shoulder.

Jared sighed. "I just wish there was something I could've done."

"Sometimes things are just fucked up. There's nothing you can do about it," Carla said. Jared felt oddly comforted. 

Jared didn't normally drink much, but when the man you devoted your life to for two years disapears, you change. Jared was fully aware of how sad the entire situation was: a grown man drinking alone in his house. But he honestly couldn't find it within himself to care.

At about one a.m, jared made a brave, albeit unwise decision.

"Hello?" 

Richard sounded awful. Well, he sounded wonderful because he was richard, but he also sounded exhausted and miserable. The first one could be attributed to it being almost three in the morning in Tulsa. But hearing him like that instantly filled jared with worry.

"I'm- I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you. I just-this was stupid. I'm sorry. I'll let you-"

"Jared? What's going on? Why are you calling me in the middle of the night?" Richard sounded concerned and jared immediately felt guilty.

"I um, I just wanted to call. It's been a while since we've talked and I just wanted to see how you were holding up." Jared was fumbling over his words. Richard had a way of making him nervous.

"Jared, are you okay? You sound upset," Richard said. Jared's stomach turned. He couldn't believe richard cared so much about his wellbeing, especially in the state he was in. 

Unfortunately, the alcohol had sent jared's mind swimming, and he couldn't stop the words from tumbling out of his mouth.

"I miss you."

There was an awkward silence. Jared wanted to melt into the floor. 

"Y-you do?" Richard sounded surprised, but not angry.

Every inch of Jared was telling him to take it back, to apologize and never bring it up again. But he knew it would just be added to a list of should've's, and he had plenty of those already. 

"Yes. I do. It's been horrible here without you. I'm so sorry about your job, richard. I really am. But I wish you'd just come home. I-" he took a deep breath, knowing he'd probably regret saying this. "I need you. Here. With me."

More silence. Jared was begging for richard to say something. Anything.

"I uh, I miss you too, jared," Richard cleared his throat. "Listen, this is super weird, and I don't even know why I'm bothering asking, but do you, uh, wanna come see me? In tulsa? I'm not really ready to got back to Palo Alto just yet. But I just think that, like, seeing you would be good for me?"

Jared was stunned. His heart was brimming with hope for once and he'd never felt so optimistic about his future before. 

"I'm sorry, that was a stupid idea. Of course you're not just gonna drop everything and-" 

"I'd love to, richard. I'll head to the airport tomorrow, okay?"

"Really? Okay," Jared could hear Richard's smile through the phone. He couldn't wait to see that smile.


End file.
